


Occlumency 301

by mayachain



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: Humor, Interrogation, M/M, Mentor-Student, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-11-18
Updated: 2007-11-18
Packaged: 2017-10-05 12:19:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayachain/pseuds/mayachain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No matter how hard you try, you can never guess another person's deepest secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Occlumency 301

**Author's Note:**

> Darkness below. Beta-credits belong to **automaticdoor**.

  


* * *

**June 1997**

Draco tried to shrink further into the tree he was leaning against, make himself invisible before the other wizard's chilling stare, but it was useless. They were on the run, and he felt equally sick thinking about what they were running from and what – who – they were running to. Oblivious to the night's warmth, he was trembling, shaken to the core with both his own failure and what he'd witnessed the other man do.

In less than a hour, he would stand before the creature that had taken up residence in his family's home.

"If you wish to survive," Snape hissed into the night as if reading his thoughts, "there is one Occlumentic trick you need to know about, and I strongly doubt that your Aunt has told you of it."

The small clearing they were resting in could not be further from a classroom. Professor Snape had never had more of Draco's attention.

"When you endeavour to occlude against a wizard as terrible and powerful as the Dark Lord, no matter how well-trained you are, how well you have held your own against me, it is inevitable that there _will_ come a time when he'll manage to break through.

If this happens, _there'll be no way you can bluff_; what he'll find in your mind _will be the truth_. The Avada will be a mercy should he find out about your change of allegiances."

Draco could not help a tiny whimper of fear. His only hope was that this man was still oath-bound to save his life. He should be. He had to be, maybe he was, maybe he was offering a solution.

"If you ever feel that you cannot keep him out, if you know he's going to break your meagre defences, you _must_ focus on something, anything, that you really want, a deep-seated, true desire of something so ridiculously unreachable you'll _never_ have it. It has to be something not even your mother would believe you want, something the Dark Lord will cherish holding over you in private. _Please_ tell me you _have_ an unreachable desire like that?"

Unreadable black eyes met shivering grey ones and held them. Although he felt confident that there was no Legilimency at work here, he gulped, unable to deny the forbidding gaze. Not daring to lower his eyes, he nodded.

Snape gave him a cold smile.

"Good. Disregard your embarrassment. Disregard the pain of having him know about it. Revealing what you wish most to keep secret will be your only way to survive."

Shivering at the idea, Draco dared not blink, returned the stare desperately, wishing to understand.

"Think of your secret," the Professor whispered. "Let him see it. Show him exactly how much you know your wish will never be fulfilled. The Dark Lord will triumph, believing he has seen your innermost secret – which he will have. He will, however, believe that he has broken you, not that you offered it up to him on purpose."

He could see where this was going now, but he had to be sure. Listening as the Professor confirmed his suspicion, he dared not breathe.

"Therefore, there will be a moment, an infinitely short amount of time, where he'll be distracted, wondering how to most effectively deride you for his seemingly accidental discovery. That split second, however, before he continues assessing your loyalty, is when you rebuild and reinforce your walls."  


* * *

  
**May 2018**

As per usual, it was completely impossible for the only two Slytherin/Gryffindor couples the Wizarding World had ever seen to meet for dinner without what Remus in the relative privacy of his mind referred to as _the Ritual of Gaga_, the _Mental Breakdown_ or simply _they want to drive us mad, they are insane_.

It never mattered whether they met up at a restaurant, at Malfoy Manor or at Spinner's End. As was customary, the hosting couple or the couple issuing the invitation would always wait by the door to greet their guests. As soon as the door opened, Severus and young Draco would share a brief glance, nod curtly and respectfully at each other, then look at the other's partner to attempt a greeting. On a good day, Severus might get so far as to open his mouth, and on one memorable occasion, Draco had even managed to extend a hand, but it was futile. Invariably, the look would be prolonged into a stare, and an eyelid would twitch, or a dimple would appear, a lip would curl up, and then they would both be giggling so hard they'd eventually have to relocate to the floor.

Remus and Neville were never told what the joke was. The nearest thing they'd ever gotten to an explanation was the word "survival", choked out by Severus in May 2013 during a helpless string of hiccoughs.

Bewildered and a little exasperated, Neville and Remus had hoped in vain that over a decade would to be enough for a joke at the Gryffindors' expanses to wear off. However, standing side by side as they watched their lovers bemusedly as they kicked off their twentieth celebration of the Battle of Hogwarts' End by laughing so hard their pale faces had turned red and become streaked with tears, they couldn't help but smile a little themselves.  


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